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Plains of Blood
Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain (1996) |status = Intact |appearances = }} The Plains of Blood were a location in eastern Nosgoth, explicitly featured only on the map of Nosgoth included with Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain. They have not overtly been visited in the Legacy of Kain series, however developer comments suggest that they comprised the large clearings where The Battle of the Last Stand took place in Blood Omen. Role During the Blood Omen era, the Plains could be identified on the World map as an expansive clearing between Avernus, the Lake of Lost Souls, and Stahlberg. They were depicted as an open space bordered by forestland on all sides apart from their northern frontier, which led towards the House of the Dollmaker. Map of Nosgoth (Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain) at Nosgothic Realm (by Tenaya and Guilherme Coelho) Though not explicitly identified as such in game, the Plains were visited during the course of Blood Omen as the setting for the Battle of the Last Stand and were only accessible during that battle. Visually, the Plains of Blood were depicted as a large expanse of mud that, during the battle, was littered with corpses and medieval battle equipment. As Kain progressed northward along the Plains, feeding on both sides, the Legions of the Nemesis gained the upper hand and scenes of carnage became more frequent, reminiscent of the utter devastation and mutilation previously visible at Stahlberg. Eventually, as King Ottmar was slain, the Army of the Last Hope fragmented and fled into the surrounding forests. As Kain became cornered near a guardhouse and the Legions of the Nemesis turned their attentions to him, the Time Streaming Device he obtained in Avernus Cathedral spontaneously activated and propelled him fifty years into the past. Before his eyes, the mud caked battlefield turned to lush greenery. Realizing his chance to change history, Kain subsequently traveled to the Land of the Nemesis to assassinate William. Background The Plains of Blood are not mentioned or identified within Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain itself. They are only named in one source: the paper map distributed with the Microsoft Windows port of the game. The Plains comprise one of three named areas on this map which were not obviously visited within the game; the other two are the Great Southern Lake and the Lake of Tears. Unlike those, however, the Plains are never visited in any subsequent Legacy of Kain games, either. It is likely that the Plains of Blood is actually the proper name for the unidentified fields upon which the Battle of the Last Stand occurs. Their name tends to suggest some form of conflict did, or would, take place there. This notion was confirmed by Blood Omen director Denis Dyack, who in response to questioning about the Plains, confirmed the connection between the area and the Battle of the Last Stand, commenting that: "The Plains of Blood is where the huge battle is fought."LoK : Plains of Blood at Google Groups (by David Lemasa), post #2 (by Denis Dyack) Design and Layout to be added BO1-Environment-Nosgoth-Map-Game.jpg|Unlabeled Plains expanse (between Avernus and Elzevir) on in-game BO1 map BO1-Environment-Nosgoth-Map-Full.jpg|Labeled "Plains of Blood" expanse on BO1 paper map BO1-Map0044-Sect41-BattlePlains-South.png|Southern Plains BO1-Map0044-Sect31-BattlePlains-Mid.png|Mid plains BO1-Map0044-Sect21-BattlePlains-North.png|North plains Notes *The Plains of Blood are largely inaccessible ingame, surrounded in the map by forests. Kain is transported to the Plains after he returns the Dollmaker's Doll to Ottmar, and when the battle is finished and the Time Streaming Device activated, Kain is automatically transported to a keep on the outskirts of the Stahlberg, and is free to explore following a cutscene involving Kain reading a Mercenary's memories of Moebius. *The Plains carried many of the signs of the conquests of the Legions of the Nemesis (previously seen in Stahlberg). Corpses were littered everywhere; some are cut in half, others are beheaded, many people (or body parts) are impaled on stakes or crucified and there is a large pile of bloodied skulls with a white Willendorf flag protruding, defaced with the words "Death to Ottmar", scrawled in blood. *Though the Plains are never playable outside of the effects of battle, given the name and brief glimpses in cutscenes it appears they were an expanse of grassland and fields before the warring armies reduced them to mud. *The name "Plains of Blood" appears nowhere in any of the Legacy of Kain games. The area's moniker is only revealed on the larger cloth map of Nosgoth included with initial Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain releases. Their etymology is uncertain.Map of Nosgoth at Nosgothic Realm *Because the Battle of the Last Stand occurred only in the second paradox timeline where the Nemesis came to power, the status of the Plains of Blood in subsequent timelines remains unclear. Appearances * Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain See also *Battle of the Last Stand * Map of Nosgoth (Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain) at Nosgothic Realm (by Tenaya and Guilherme Coelho). References Category:Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain Category:Blood Omen locations Category:Landmarks Category:Locations Category:Nosgoth